


Everfall

by aj_linguistik



Series: October Prompt Challenge [29]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Blushing, Dragon Riders, F/M, First Kiss, Holding Hands, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot, Post-Canon, Sort of? Post Moon Cradle, on a date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: A/N: Renly asked a question that Tiese struggled to answer at first as she dealt with her feelings for Eugeo. Now that she has accepted that it's okay to move on, she's decided to give him an answer.
Relationships: Renly Synthesis Twenty-Seven/Tiese Shtolienen
Series: October Prompt Challenge [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Everfall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disasterbiKirito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts).



> A/N: It's DAY 29! I am SO CLOSE TO THE GOAL! Today's prompt was "On a Date" and babe finally picked TieRen. His only big requirement was that he took her on a dragon ride. I maybe went a bit creative on the second half of that date haha. I hope you all enjoy this!!!!

Tiese bit her lip and stared nervously into the mirror in front of her. Behind her, Ronye carefully tugged at her long hair with a brush, removing all of the tangles from it. She’d offered to do her hair today, especially since she knew she’d be in a windy place. She folded her hands over her lap and glanced over at the wall beside the vanity to where a certain crystalline, blue-tinged sword sat in its sheath. Her heart felt a slight pinch as she regarded the sword. She and Ronye had had a few heart-to-heart conversations recently discussing her hopeless pining after Eugeo. Tiese had someone right in front of her—someone who was alive and offering his hand to her without asking for anything in return. She knew she had to put down those past feelings and look to the future.

“Do you think this is the right thing?” she asked quietly.

Ronye picked up some strands of her hair and started to braid them. Tiese looked up at her best friend in the mirror and caught her eyes at a glance. Ronye sighed and smiled. It was a pained smile. She hated to put her friend through so much griping.

“Sir Renly is a fine man, Tiese,” she said. “I know your heart still aches for senpai, but feeling like he’d be upset to see you with someone else won’t make you feel any better. He would be very happy to know that you’ve found someone kind and gentle who respects you, and you know this better than I do.”

Tiese nodded.

“It’s okay to allow yourself to enjoy Sir Renly’s company,” she continued. “In a way, I’m jealous of you. He’s so sweet. You’re a lucky woman, Tiese.”

Her friend jokingly poked her in the shoulder. Tiese finally smiled. She had to cast aside the burden of guilt she felt from moving on. Like Ronye had said, Eugeo would want this for her. It was okay to let go of him and turn and cling to Renly. She clasped her hands together in her lap and drew in a deep breath. Now that she’d voiced her own unwarranted guilt and heard Ronye’s comforting words, she could say what had been on her mind for the past few days.

“Ronye,” she said.

Her friend had stuck some hairpins in her mouth.

“Mm-hmm?” she hummed.

Tiese almost laughed at her. She lifted her eyes again and waited for Ronye to look at her through the mirror. When their eyes met, she gave her a nervous smile.

“I’m going to say yes.”

The hairpins promptly fell out of Ronye’s mouth as she gasped in excitement. She threw her arms around Tiese, hugging her with all of her might. Tiese laughed and held onto her friend’s arms, appreciating the loving support even more than she could know.

“I’m so happy for you!” Ronye said. “I thought when you asked me that you were having second thoughts.”

Tiese shook her head.

“On the contrary, I’m very certain,” she said. “I felt guilty being so certain. I want to marry Renly. He’s been nothing but kind to me.”

Ronye hurriedly picked up all of the hairpins from the floor and started to work on Tiese’s hair again. She worked with a new vigor.

“Are you telling him today?” she asked.

Smiling, Tiese nodded.

“Yes, I think I will,” she said. “He’s waited long enough for his answer, no?”

Ronye giggled and shook her head. Renly had asked for her hand in marriage amidst dealing with the murder case in Centoria. It had been a few weeks, since she’d asked him to give her time to think. She’d noticed how his demeanor had changed a bit. He clearly was anxious for an answer, but he tried his hardest not to let that show. He finally started asking her out to do things again, so today he’d be taking her on a date via dragon ride.

“Any idea where he’s taking you?” Ronye asked.

Tiese shook her head.

“Not a clue,” she said. “He said it’s a surprise.”

Another giggle came from Ronye’s direction. She finally pulled her hand away from Tiese’s hair and waved for her to get up and give it a look. Tiese stepped out of the chair and turned in front of the mirror, admiring Ronye’s braiding skills. She turned to her friend and gave her a big hug.

“Are you sure the outfit is good enough?” she asked.

Ronye looked her up and down. She was wearing a longer white dress with frilled sleeves. She’d chosen the length to cover up her legs while they rode on Renly’s dragon. Beneath the dress poked out two white boots, another practical, yet elegant choice for someone who would be soaring through the sky. Ronye nodded at her and smiled.

“You look lovely,” she said. “Now!”

She stepped forward, grasped Tiese by the shoulders, and turned her around to steer her towards the door.

“Go have a nice date!” she demanded.

Laughing, Tiese told her that she would as she waved goodbye. She headed up to the thirtieth floor where she was supposed to meet with Renly. It was only a couple of floors up from where she and Ronye lived, and luckily for her, Renly preferred to take off from the Central Cathedral itself rather than from the stables on the ground. When she entered the space, she saw him gently stroking the dragon’s jawline. It pressed its nose against his head and lovingly nuzzled him. She couldn’t help but imagine a future where she and her own dragon would be in a similar relationship.

Renly must have heard her boots against the floor because he looked away from the dragon and smiled at her. He instantly started blushing, something that he seemed to do anytime he saw her. She gave him a polite curtsey, and he, suddenly even more flustered, gave her a bow. He seemed nervous.

“You look lovely today, Tiese,” he said.

Her cheeks burned a little as she felt the warmth of his compliment. She looked at his outfit and smiled. He’d left his armor off today, wearing only his green uniform. It wasn’t an unusual look for him, but he looked smaller than usual because of the lack of bulky armor. He glanced up at his dragon, likely looking for an excuse to awkwardly look somewhere else. She giggled.

“And you look very handsome,” she said.

His blushing intensified.

“Th-thank you,” he said. “This is your first time riding on a dragon, right?”

Tiese nodded.

“That’s correct,” she said.

He smiled and a bit of the awkwardness seemed to disappear. He apologized and then lifted her up to help her crawl up onto the dragon’s back. After she was up in the saddle, he deftly climbed up after her and sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he reached for the reins. He apologized again for how close they were sitting, to which she quickly told him it was quite alright. In any case, the pair was blushing so hard that their skin practically matched the tone of Tiese’s hair.

“Well…hold on,” he said.

He snapped the reins once, and the dragon took off from the open door in the wall. Renly guided him up to a height where they could see all of the city of Centoria laid out beneath them. He held onto the reins with one hand when he reached a decent altitude, and with the other he kept his hand on Tiese’s waist to keep her steady in the saddle. She gazed out over the roofs of buildings and smiled. The world looked so beautiful from this height. It was a shame one couldn’t see each section of the human empire from the cathedral windows, as few as they were.

“How do you like the view?” Renly asked.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him.

“It’s wonderful up here!” she said, laughing. “It’s a wonder you don’t stay up here all of the time!”

He chuckled.

“Well, I have someone who’s usually on the ground that I love to be with,” he said.

Tiese felt the heat rising in her cheeks again. How could he say such a thing so calmly? Well, she thought that, but he immediately saw her gaze and started flushing again. She laughed and rested her hand on top of his against her stomach. He had the dragon circle around the cathedral so that she could see everything, and then after some time of coasting through the air, he tugged on the reins and had the dragon head due south into Southacroith. She watched the world below them pass by as they flew further and further from Centoria.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Renly hummed.

“Somewhere very special,” he said.

She wondered why he was being so secretive about it. She’d never crossed into the southern empire before, so it wasn’t like she’d been here before. He eventually steered the dragon a bit east, staying within the border but beginning the descent into a forested area. The dragon finally touched down in a clearing, and Renly slipped off of its back to the ground. He reached up to Tiese, offering for her to slip down into his arms. He held her up for a moment, smiling at her, and then he gently set her down. He reached over and took her by the hand.

“This way,” he said.

He led her through the forest for a good five minutes before it opened up into another clearing, but this one was different from the one they’d landed in. In the very center of the clearing, a single tree stood in the middle in stark contrast to all of the others. Its leaves were red and gold and orange—the colors of fall amidst a summery sea of green. The tree had a perfect circle of fallen leaves around it, yet it appeared to have no bare branches. Tiese let her jaw drop open in awe at the magical sight of such a tree.

“I saw this tree once a while ago,” he said. “Before the war. Before Administrator decided I was too weak to be an Integrity Knight.”

Tiese frowned at him and squeezed his hand tightly.

“I stopped here and wondered how a tree could be trapped in an eternal autumn,” he said. “It was beautiful and mysterious to me. I thought that it might make an excellent divine weapon for another knight.”

She gazed up at the tree.

“While I don’t think anyone but the Swordsman Delegate could make a divine weapon now, I thought of this tree when you first joined us as an Integrity Knight apprentice.”

Renly turned to her and took her hands in his, his cheeks as rouge as ever.

“I thought that even if I couldn’t present you with such a beautiful sword as Alice’s, I could at least take you here and show you the tree that made me think of you and your beautiful, fiery hair.”

Tiese squeezed his hands again.

“It’s breathtaking, Renly,” she said.

Now. Now was definitely the time to tell him. She drew in a breath and looked up at his golden eyes as he smiled at her sweetly. The fall leaves danced around them in the strange little pocket of eternal autumn. He stood out in contrast to those fall colors, a brilliant green that matched the forest around them more than the special tree. She nodded her head at him and returned his smile warmly.

“I will,” she said.

His eyes widened just a bit.

“You will…?” he repeated.

She nodded her head again.

“Yes, Renly,” she said softy. “I will marry you.”

The young knight’s eyes filled up with tears of joy as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. She returned it, enjoying the comfort of knowing she’d made the right decision. When they stepped apart, Renly cautiously put a hand to her cheek and leaned in a little.

“May I?” he whispered.

Tiese nodded.

“You may,” she said.

Renly slowly closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. As Integrity Knights, they didn’t have to be married to share this special bond between humans. It was still likely the first kiss either of them had shared. It was soft and warm and as gentle as sunlight touching one’s skin. She carefully raised her hand to touch her fingertips to Renly’s cheek. This man would soon be her husband.

Before the war, Tiese’s greatest fear was that she’d be married off to someone who treated her and others around her horribly. She feared that a man with no honor and respect would be the one she’d spend her life with. But now, as Renly’s lips graced her own, sealing their love as a promise to wed, that fear melted away into nothingness. She was free from that fate now. The man she was marrying was a man who was filled with honor and respect. And most importantly of all, he’d chosen her and loved her.

_Eugeo-senpai, I’ve found someone like that_ , she thought. _I’ve found someone kind._

With her answer given, Tiese found the day to be that much more pleasant than it had been before. She and Renly walked through the woods, spotting wildlife and sharing stories. Without much of his memories, Renly mostly listened to her childhood stories. At daybreak, they returned to the cathedral. Renly asked her if she would accept him asking Kirito to transform the tree into a divine weapon for her. She said she would be honored to receive such a gift if it were possible.

And so, on the day of their wedding, Renly presented to her the Everfall Sword, a blade that matched the fiery hair and spirit of the knight who wielded it. Every time she drew its blade, she thought of her beloved. On spring and summer days, one could often catch the couple resting against one another beneath a tree whose leaves were the colors of fall.

Two knights, sworn to protect the world and one another until death do they part.


End file.
